Immediate Family

About Dr. Anton N. Nelson

Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005) spent his youth steeped in the political and natural landscape of northern Wisconsin. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Christiana, Norway, and claimed a homestead allotment in Polk County in 1878, supplementing their farm income with work at a local timber mill. He had the county's many lakeshores for a playground. His mother, a homemaker and trained nurse, taught him about the region's flora and fauna, while his father, a widely known doctor and prominent Progressive Party agitator, administered Gaylord's political education. (4)

Anton was interested in virtually everything and "knew more about more things than virtually anybody I ever met in my life," said Rusty Peirson. (Man From Clear Lake, page 46)